Spruce Up Your Above Ground Pool with These Clever Landscaping Tricks
Installing an above ground pool can provide a refreshing oasis right in your own backyard. But the plastic sides and basic shape often look bland compared to the elegant curves and stone finishes of in-ground designs. Thankfully, it doesn't take much effort to give your humble above ground pool a major style upgrade with strategic landscaping.
With some clever tricks, you can transform the area into a gorgeous backyard showcase. We'll explore easy ways to complement your pool with custom decking, craft a stunning patio, get creative with lighting, and much more.
Complement with Custom Decking
One of the best ways to elevate your poolscape is to install decorative decking around the perimeter. This serves both form and function, providing a pretty platform for lounging poolside while also stabilizing the structure.
Material Options
Pressure-treated pine offers a budget-friendly decking choice, though it requires regular sealing and staining. Cedar and redwood are naturally resistant to insects and decay for low maintenance. Or opt for composite boards made from wood fibers and plastic which withstand weather and wear impressively well.
Built-In Features
In addition to flat deck space, consider adding built-in benches, planter boxes, or even storage beneath the deck. Curving the edges can lend the decking a free-flowing shape. Just be sure to follow installation guidelines to properly support add-ons like railings.
Craft a Stunning Pool Patio
Patios make an excellent alternative or addition to decking around above ground pools. By nature, they offer a more polished look than wooden decks and blend seamlessly into the rest of your landscape.
Material Choices
For patios, popular options range from flagstone and pavers to poured concrete or concrete slab construction. Pavers stand up especially well to pooling water with proper sand joints and base preparation. Their color and pattern options also let you integrate the pool area with other hardscapes in your yard.
Fun Additions
Outfit the patio with inviting furniture, an outdoor kitchen for poolside meals, or an open fire pit to warm up on cooler nights. For convenience, you can run electricity to the area for music, lighting, irrigation controls, etc.
Get Creative with Poolside Lighting
Few finishing touches can transform a backyard pool quite like strategic lighting. Illumination serves both aesthetic and functional purposes for safety and night swims. From underwater fixtures to innovative tree placements, there are endless ways to brighten up your poolscape after dark.
Lighting Options
LED lighting offers maximum longevity and vivid colors for low voltage requirements. Popular choices include hanging pendant lights, recessed perimeter lighting, specialized underwater fixtures, and remote spotlights. Many are available with Wi-Fi controls and automation features to set schedules or create dynamic shows.
Creative Placements
Draping globe string lights from the branches of nearby trees creates a whimsical effect. Underwater lights along the pool floor or steps help highlight those areas. You can also use lighting to accent vertical features like rock formations, fences, or privacy lattice.
Complement with Natural Landscaping
What better complement to a relaxing pool than beautiful gardens and greenery? Carefully selected plants not only enhance aesthetics but provide shade, define spaces, attract pollinators, and improve air quality as well.
Plant Selection
Choose specimens well-suited to poolside conditions like ornamental grasses, lavender, rosemary and other Mediterranean herbs, succulents, bamboos and palms. Fruit trees also lend delicious additions! Just take care to avoid prickly plants or excess foliage.
Garden Design
Matching your overall landscape style, you can theme your pool gardens as tropical retreats, relaxing Zen spaces, vibrant cottage designs, and more. Use trees and hedges to privatize the area and add hardscaping like stone walls or gravel paths to extend design elements poolside.
Add Relaxing Water Features
For bonus aquatic ambience, install decorative water features like ponds, fountains, or splash pads paired with the pool itself. These can be subtle, like a peaceful corner pond, or prominent installations as the central focus.
Positioning
Small fountains make great additions near pool entry steps, deck corners, or surrounding patio areas. For larger waterfall features, incorporate them into multi-level pools or raised spaces overlooking the water for pleasant sights and sounds.
Material Choices
Dry stack stone, concrete, copper, and ceramic offer excellent fountain or waterfall building materials. Consider LED accent lighting to highlight cascading streams at night. And for low maintenance, recirculating pumps are far easier than natural streams.
Enhance Privacy with Screens
Installing screening around your pool area creates seclusion from neighbors while letting you relax in swimsuits without awkward feelings. Fortunately, privacy options abound from natural plantings to detachable panels.
Screen Materials
Classic lattice remains a top choice for airy coverage and vertical plant growth potential. Or select solid panels in materials like cedar, redwood, vinyl, composite boards, or lightweight concrete. Living screens with tall grasses, bamboo, evergreen hedges or vines make great green alternatives.
Positioning
Freestanding screens allow you to reposition panels based on sun exposure, views, etc. For more permanent solutions that withstand wind, anchor directly to deck posts or the pool structure itself. Avoid excess moisture contact with wood screens to prevent warping or decay.
Use Multi-Level Decking
Instead of a flat perimeter deck, incorporate some elevation changes to create an organic-shaped poolscape that flows with your property's terrain. Multi-tiered decking adds both form and function for lounging, play areas, and landscape interest.
Design Elements
Wrap upper decks around existing trees and gardens to preserve the area's natural charm. Use graduated deck levels to handle steep grade changes or divert runoff safely away from the pool. Wide steps also double as bench seating.
Construction Challenges
Note that multi-level decking requires extensive plotting for stair trains, transitions between levels, added railings and structural reinforcement. Most codes require deck foundations extend below the local frost line. Also consider how you'll reroute irrigation and electrical before building.
With some clever landscaping tricks, that humble above ground pool can transform into a luxurious backyard oasis and become the jewel of your landscape. Extend the aquatic ambience throughout the whole area with gorgeous greenery, entertaining spaces and eye-catching aesthetics anyone would envy.
No matter your budget or terrain challenges, reimagining your pool's surroundings can take it from basic to beautiful in no time. Get inspired by these key design ideas and start brainstorming how to give your personal poolscape a major makeover!